My Deepest Desire
by ambertiger22
Summary: We know what Harry and Ron first saw in the Mirror of Erised, but what did the others see? Follow different characters and their experiences discovering and usin the enchanted mirror.


**A/N: Just so you all get a rough idea which characters i'm doing, here are my current plans. Some characters will have two chapters because what they see changes slightly. Could be in any order.**

**Snape [Harry's first year, Harry's 5****th**** year]**

**George [Post Battle of Hogwarts]**

**Dumbledore [Harry's first year, Harry's 5****th**** year]**

**Harry [Post Battle of Hogwarts]**

**Ginny [Mid War aka 7****th**** book]**

My Heart's Deepest Desire

The Battle was over, Voldemort was defeated, and the good side had triumphed over evil. So why was nobody celebrating, why was the air filled with cries of despair? Why was it that though people all over the country were laughing and celebrating, that the combatants of Hogwarts, our heroes of the war, were thrown into mourning and grief?

Harry moved swiftly through the castle, under the invisibility cloak nobody attempted to stop him. It was comforting to know he could still escape the heaps of adoring witches and wizards and have a moment to himself, even if just for a few moments.

He cared not where he was heading, and he only knew he needed an escape from the people who were constantly talking to him, congratulating him, and following him. Harry did not feel as though he should be thanked. Hundreds of others had fought as much as he, and many others had laid down their lives to see good conquer evil.

As he was walking, a certain door caught his eye. He turned, not sure why it was drawing his attention. Moving forward, Harry realized this was the classroom in which he had found the Mirror of Erised. He had always assumed the mirror had been taken out of Hogwarts after He, Ron, and Hermione had rescued the Philosopher's Stone. He had never considered that Dumbledore may have kept the mirror here, though it seemed unlikely he would let another student find it.

Harry moved forward, running his hand along the door frame, searching for a sign of protective enchantments. Of course, after Dumbledore died they would have broken. There was definitely a past trace of them. If the enchantments had broken, was the mirror still here?

He hesitated for only a few seconds before pushing open the door. Harry took a sharp intake of breath. What had he been expecting? The room was almost exactly the same as when he had first discovered it in his first year. The mirror stood tall on the other side of the room. Harry hesitated once again. Would he be able to pull away from the mirror? He had after all resisted the urge to go to the forest and find the resurrection stone, for one more glance at those he lost.

Almost as if he was drawn to the mirror, Harry walked towards it. Taking a deep breath and closing his eyes, he stepped in front of the mirror. He opened his eyes. For a moment, the glass only reflected him as himself, then it began to change. He jolted in slight surprise before moving closer to the enchanted glass.

A part of him had expected it, another part of him never had. Directly behind him as he remembered, Lily and James stood, smiling down at their son. However, there was something different. Slightly behind his father's shoulder, stood two people. Sirius Black and Remus Lupin were smiling at him, Sirius's arm thrown over Remus's shoulder in a brotherly fashion.

On the other side of the mirror, standing behind Lily, was Albus Dumbledore. His bright blue eyes gave Harry the impression of being X-rayed, the half-moon spectacles perched on his crooked nose. He was smiling, as though nothing could have pleased him more than seeing Harry there.

Harry moved closer to the glass, giving in slightly to temptation. Was it so wrong to want to see them again? It was cruel, the little amount of time he had had with them. Harry watched the happy expressions on each and every one of their faces, fighting back tears. They can't come back, he told himself firmly. Staring at them in the mirror won't bring them back. Yet, he wanted nothing more than to stare at those people he longer for most, his lost family.

Harry closed his eyes. Dumbledore had told him, hadn't he? He had told him his heart's desire was to have the family he never had. Opening his eyes again, he focused on Sirius, Remus, and Dumbledore. His heart's desire had only changed slightly. He wanted the family that he had once had. He had long ago accepted he would never know his parents.

He had found a small family, but they too had been taken from him. For a few short, glorious years he had finally found those who cared about him. Sirius and Remus had accepted him with open arms.

Harry felt almost ashamed of admitting it, but he missed Dumbledore just as much. They had had a complicated relationship, closer than student and headmaster. Dumbledore had always been there, even if it did not always showed. He had been something solid at Hogwarts, someone who believed him without question, who guided and helped him. Perhaps there is a reason for it, after all. Maybe it was destiny, or that a hero needed a mentor.

Harry had a different opinion on it, though. He felt it was naturally that he and Dumbledore had grown close. In a sense, in was inevitable. Both of them, in a way, were alone. Neither had remaining family, or family that supported them. Each had the weight of the world to carry on their shoulders. But most importantly, both had been looking for someone to love, to care about, to confide in, and to trust. And that had made all the difference.

He did not know how long he stood in front of the mirror, gazing into the image of his lost family. Eventually, Harry tore his eyes away from the image. He would always miss them, he would always give anything to bring them back, but he still had a family. He had all the Weasleys, he had Ginny, and his small godson Teddy.

But most of all, he had Ron and Hermione, who had stuck with him until the very end.


End file.
